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Fedor Grigoryevich Solntsev (russian: link=no, Фёдор Григо́рьевич Со́лнцев) ( – )
[ was a Russian painter and historian of art. His artwork was a major contribution in recording and preserving medieval Russian culture, which was a common subject of his paintings. He was the main author of the fundamental work ',] the main decorator of interiors of the Grand Kremlin Palace
The Grand Kremlin Palace (russian: Большой Кремлёвский дворец - ) was built from 1837 to 1849 in Moscow, Russia, on the site of the estate of the Grand Princes, which had been established in the 14th century on Borovitsk ...
in Moscow. He discovered and restored mosaic
A mosaic is a pattern or image made of small regular or irregular pieces of colored stone, glass or ceramic, held in place by plaster/mortar, and covering a surface. Mosaics are often used as floor and wall decoration, and were particularly pop ...
s and fresco
Fresco (plural ''frescos'' or ''frescoes'') is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaste ...
es of Saint Sophia Cathedral, Kyiv
Saint Sophia Cathedral in Kyiv, Ukraine, is an architectural monument of Kyivan Rus. The former cathedral is one of the city's best known landmarks and the first heritage site in Ukraine to be inscribed on the World Heritage List along with the K ...
and Cathedral of the Dormition
The Cathedral of the Dormition (russian: Успенский собор , translit = Uspensky sobor), also known as the Assumption Cathedral or Cathedral of the Assumption, is a Russian Orthodox church dedicated to the Dormition of the Theotokos. ...
of Kyiv Pechersk Lavra
Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra or Kyivo-Pechers’ka Lavra ( uk, Києво-Печерська лавра, translit=Kyievo-Pecherska lavra, russian: Киево-Печерская лавра), also known as the Kyiv Monastery of the Caves, is a historic Ea ...
in Kyiv
Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the List of European cities by populat ...
, and of Cathedral of Saint Demetrius
The Cathedral of Saint Demetrius (Russian language, Russian Дмитриевский собор) is a cathedral in the ancient Russian city of Vladimir (city), Vladimir. It was finished in 1197 during the reign of the Grand Prince Vsevolod the Big ...
in Vladimir
Vladimir may refer to:
Names
* Vladimir (name) for the Bulgarian, Croatian, Czech, Macedonian, Romanian, Russian, Serbian, Slovak and Slovenian spellings of a Slavic name
* Uladzimir for the Belarusian version of the name
* Volodymyr for the Ukr ...
.[
Fedor Solntsev, together with Metropolitan Philaret and ]Archimandrite
The title archimandrite ( gr, ἀρχιμανδρίτης, archimandritēs), used in Eastern Christianity, originally referred to a superior abbot (''hegumenos'', gr, ἡγούμενος, present participle of the verb meaning "to lead") who ...
Photius
Photios I ( el, Φώτιος, ''Phōtios''; c. 810/820 – 6 February 893), also spelled PhotiusFr. Justin Taylor, essay "Canon Law in the Age of the Fathers" (published in Jordan Hite, T.O.R., & Daniel J. Ward, O.S.B., "Readings, Cases, Materia ...
are considered the founders of modern Russian icon painting canon
Canon or Canons may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* Canon (fiction), the conceptual material accepted as official in a fictional universe by its fan base
* Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture
** Western ca ...
synthesizing ancient Russian traditions, post- Petrine efforts and modern art discoveries.[
]
Biography
Fedor Solntsev was born in a village near Rybinsk
Rybinsk ( rus, Рыбинск, p=ˈrɨbʲɪnsk), the second largest types of inhabited localities in Russia, city of Yaroslavl Oblast in Russia, lies at the confluence of the Volga River, Volga and Sheksna Rivers, 267 kilometers north-north-eas ...
in the Yaroslavl Governorate
Yaroslavl Governorate (russian: Ярославская губерния, ''Yaroslavskaya guberniya'') was an administrative division (a '' guberniya'') of the Russian Empire and the Russian SFSR, located in European Russia in the Upper Volga ...
. His parents were serf
Serfdom was the status of many peasants under feudalism, specifically relating to manorialism, and similar systems. It was a condition of debt bondage and indentured servitude with similarities to and differences from slavery, which developed ...
s of Count
Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...
. His father, Grigory Konstantinovich Solntsev, worked as a box-office attendant for the Imperial theaters in Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
and travelled to the village very infrequently while his mother, Elizaveta Frolovna Solntseva, was a peasant and lived all her life in the village. Fedor spent his early life with his mother and siblings.[ After discovering his artistic ability, his master freed the Solntsev family, which allowed Fedor to enter the ]Imperial Academy of Arts
The Russian Academy of Arts, informally known as the Saint Petersburg Academy of Arts, was an art academy in Saint Petersburg, founded in 1757 by the founder of the Imperial Moscow University Ivan Shuvalov under the name ''Academy of the Thre ...
in Saint Petersburg in 1815 and became a pupil of Alexei Yegorov and Stepan Shchukin
Stepan Semyonovich Shchukin (Russian: Степан Семёнович Щукин; 1754, Moscow - 10 October 1828, Saint Petersburg) was a Russian portrait and watercolor painter. Some sources give his year of birth as 1762.
Biography
He was the s ...
.[ Later, Fedor's younger brother, Yegor Solntsev also graduated from the Imperial Academy of Art and became a notable painter.][
Fedor graduated from the Academy in 1824 receiving a "Lesser Gold Medal" for his painting ''A Peasant Family''.][ In 1827 he received the "Greater Gold Medal" from the Academy for his painting '']Render unto Caesar
"Render unto Caesar" is the beginning of a phrase attributed to Jesus in the synoptic gospels, which reads in full, "Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and unto God the things that are God's" ().
This phrase has become a widely qu ...
''.[ In 1836 he became a member of the Imperial Academy of Arts for his work ''Meeting of Grand Duke ]Sviatoslav
Sviatoslav (russian: Святосла́в, Svjatosláv, ; uk, Святосла́в, Svjatosláv, ) is a Russian and Ukrainian given name of Slavic origin. Cognates include Svetoslav, Svatoslav, , Svetislav. It has a Pre-Christian pagan charact ...
with John of Tzimiskes''.[ In 1876 Solntsev was appointed Professor of the Academy.]
Fedor Solntsev's work was supported by the President of Imperial Academy of Arts Alexey Olenin
Alexey Nikolayevich Olenin (Aleksey Nikolaevich Olenin, russian: Алексей Николаевич Оленин; in Moscow – in Saint Petersburg) was a Russian archaeologist, most notable for being a director of the Imperial Public Libra ...
and Emperor Nicholas I.[ The Emperor commissioned Solntsev to decorate dinner parties and embellish his private apartments in the Kremlin.] Through his life Solntsev worked on restoration of many Moscow Kremlin
The Kremlin ( rus, Московский Кремль, r=Moskovskiy Kreml', p=ˈmɐˈskofskʲɪj krʲemlʲ, t=Moscow Kremlin) is a fortified complex in the center of Moscow founded by the Rurik dynasty. It is the best known of the kremlins (R ...
buildings including the Grand Kremlin Palace
The Grand Kremlin Palace (russian: Большой Кремлёвский дворец - ) was built from 1837 to 1849 in Moscow, Russia, on the site of the estate of the Grand Princes, which had been established in the 14th century on Borovitsk ...
and Kremlin Armoury
The Kremlin Armoury,Officially called the "Armou/ory Chamber" but also known as the cannon yard, the "Armou/ory Palace", the "Moscow Armou/ory", the "Armou/ory Museum", and the "Moscow Armou/ory Museum" but different from the Kremlin Arsenal. (r ...
. He painted Cathedral of Christ the Saviour
The Cathedral of Christ the Saviour ( rus, Храм Христа́ Спаси́теля, r=Khram Khristá Spasítelya, p=xram xrʲɪˈsta spɐˈsʲitʲɪlʲə) is a Russian Orthodox cathedral in Moscow, Russia, on the northern bank of the Moskv ...
and other churches in Moscow.[ Solntsev also worked in ]Kyiv
Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the List of European cities by populat ...
with restoration and describing artefacts of Kyiv Pechersk Lavra
Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra or Kyivo-Pechers’ka Lavra ( uk, Києво-Печерська лавра, translit=Kyievo-Pecherska lavra, russian: Киево-Печерская лавра), also known as the Kyiv Monastery of the Caves, is a historic Ea ...
. He painted the interiors of the there.
Olenin commissioned Solntsev to describe archaeological and historical artifacts of Russian state.[ Solntsev started to work in 1830. He made more than 3000 highly detailed drawing of different artifacts including the record of all the Kremlin's riches. Seven hundreds of those drawings made the core for the six-volume publications titled ''Antiquities of the Russian State''.][ The encyclopedia was published after Olenin's death using the funds provided by Nicholas I.][ Solntsev also provided a detailed chronicle of Old Russian style in his book ''Clothing of Russia''.]
Solntsev died on 3 March 1892 and was buried in Volkovo Cemetery
The Volkovo Cemetery (also Volkovskoe) (russian: Во́лковское кла́дбище or Во́лково кла́дбище) is one of the largest and oldest non-Orthodox cemeteries in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Until the early 20th century it ...
in Saint Petersburg.[
]
References
Further reading
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* Reprint publication of Solntsev's masterpiece
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Solntsev, Fedor
1801 births
1892 deaths
People from Yaroslavl Oblast
People from Mologsky Uyezd
19th-century painters from the Russian Empire
Russian male painters
19th-century historians from the Russian Empire
19th-century male artists from the Russian Empire
Members of the Imperial Academy of Arts